This invention is directed generally to the automotive arts, and more particularly to a jack hold down device or apparatus for releasably holding an automotive jack in place relative to a given surface of an automotive vehicle.
Generally speaking, automotive vehicles are frequently provided with a jack for interfitting with a portion of the vehicle frame to lift and lower the same for purposes of changing tires, or possibly for effecting other repairs. Some arrangement, usually in a trunk or other storage portion of the vehicle is provided for normally mounting the factory-supplied jack.
Generally speaking, a bolt is held in a captive relation with some formed lip or eyelet portion of the vehicle surface to which the jack is to be mounted. This bolt has an elongate threaded shank extending upwardly to receive a nut or other nut-like component, which in turn bears against some predetermined surface or lip portion of the jack body to hold the same engaged against the vehicle surface.
Such jack hold down devices have generally been heretofore supplied as a relatively simple internally threaded nut-like member, preferably having an enlarged radially projecting external handle portion for manually grasping to advance and retract the same relative to the projecting bolt. The advancement and retraction is generally by threadable engagement with the bolt for correspondingly releasing or engaging the jack. However, such jack hold down knobs have generally heretofore been provided in such a manner as to be entirely removable from the projecting bolt. Accordingly the nut-like knob member is frequently disengaged, and misplaced or lost, in practice. When the knob or nut-like component is unavailable, no means remains to reliably store the jack and hold it in place relative to the desired vehicle surface.
While it is possible to deform or destroy endmost threads on the projecting bolt to prevent such removal of the knob or nut-like member, this approach raises a number of problems. For example, this approach requires a separate machining or tool-engagement operation for deforming the threads. In relatively high speed assembly lines, such additional machining or machinery-performed operations are generally to be avoided so as to minimize the time required for assembly. Moreover, operation of such machinery requires relatively higher skill of the workers involved in the assembly process, which is also to be avoided in order to optimize the economy and speed of assembly. In this regard, it is quite difficult to assure that the necessary machining operation will be carried out to a degree necessary to prevent removal of the nut-like component in all cases, and yet avoid destruction of the threads to such a degree as to prevent the desired degree of movement of the nut relative to the bolt.
By the same token, it will be appreciated that the provision of some third component, such as a secondary locking nut or the like also fails to totally correct the above-noted problems. For example, the provision of such a third component requires yet another step in the assembly. Moreover, a further locking nut would by its nature also be removable from the bolt and capable of being lost, thereby also permitting the eventual removal and misplacement or loss of the actual hold down nut or knob component. Moreover, the provision of two separate components which the user must manipulate in order to engage and release the jack provide a further complication in the operation of the jack hold down arrangement. It is of course desirable to provide the most simple and reliable sort of operation for such consumer-oriented and consumer-directed components of an automotive vehicle.